Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan isn't pleading for an NCAA Tournament berth. He doesn't have to because Wisconsin is playing its way into the tournament.

That's right, the Badgers, one game out of first place in the Big Ten, are a home win away from unofficially clinching an NCAA Tournament berth. And if things fall just right, Wisconsin can win the Big Ten. That's right Wisconsin can win the Big Ten regular season title.

Wisconsin had only two remaining games heading into this week, at home against Iowa Tuesday -- which they won 64-56 -- and then against Michigan Feb. 27. The Badgers (17-11, 10-5) win out and get some help then they can win the Big Ten. How? Well, if Indiana (10-3) and Ohio State (9-4) lose two of their final four games -- the Hoosiers beat the Buckeyes 63-57 Wednesday night -- then Wisconsin can tie for the title.

Illinois or Minnesota can tie for the title, too, if both teams win their four remaining games to finish 11-5. But Minnesota hosts Illinois in the final game, meaning only one can be 11-5. Wisconsin can win the title outright if it finishes 11-5, Indiana and Ohio State lose three of their final four games, Illinois or Minnesota lose one more game.

Wisconsin swept Indiana and Ohio State in the only meeting with both teams, meaning Wisconsin would win a tiebreaker with those two teams and could be the top seed in the Big Ten tournament.

This is just the fourth time since 1962 that Wisconsin has won nine Big Ten games and the Badgers are guaranteed of a .500 record in league play for the fourth straight season. That hasn't happened in Madison since the 1941-44 seasons.

It's a remarkable story, considering where this team stood at the beginning of the season, let alone two months ago. The Badgers lost Julien Swarz to start the season after he decided to leave basketball for medical reasons. Impact newcomer Latrell Fleming had to take a break from basketball because of a heart condition. Another impact newcomer Andreas Helmigk was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

All those early personnel losses left the Badgers with essentially seven players to contribute. It also led to a 7-6 non-conference mark, and 8-8 record as late as Jan. 9. But then the Badgers started to gel, and started to win. It started with a one-point victory at Michigan State -- ending the Spartans' 53-game home winning streak, but only after a replay showed the Spartans' potential game-winning basket came after the final horn. Wisconsin is 7-3 since, including wins in its last four games.

"We're not begging for anything," Ryan said. "But where is the bad loss? In the last two weeks, we beat Indiana, Ohio State, Minnesota. Whatever kind of statement you're supposed to make in February, we're making."

Here are some more numbers for the Badgers:

They have four wins over teams in the top 25 in the power ratings (Marquette, Illinois, Ohio State and at Indiana).

They have another one in the top 50 (at Michigan State).

They have four more in the top 100 (Tennessee, Minnesota, Purdue and at Minnesota).

The losses, at least the "bad" losses aren't that awful -- losing at Georgia Tech, to Weber State in Hawaii, Northwestern, Michigan and at Penn State. The only loss at home was to Temple in double overtime when Lynn Greer went off for 47 points. Losing at UNLV to start the season, to Hawaii in Hilo, at Xavier, at Illinois and at Iowa when the Hawkeyes were playing well isn't anything Wisconsin needs to be ashamed of either.

"Give us a chance to show that we have gotten better," Ryan said of his Badgers. "What do you do with programs where they've had significant losses, a new coach and put things together. The committee should look at how a team is playing at the end. We were hit with adversity, we lost five of our top seven players.

"What happens to the teams where the players don't know the coaches and the system in October and it takes time to get through November," Ryan adds. "The guys did pick up the system, the nuances, and the offense and defense, and came together as a group."

Ryan is right. The selection committee does look at how a team finishes and it's one of the factors in the selection process. If the Badgers win the last two at home and finish winning by nine of their last 12 games, they should be in the 65-team field. Winning a Big Ten tournament game would put them a little more at ease, but might not be a necessity. And if they don't win the Big Ten tournament, the precedent has been set for the Badgers to enter the NCAA Tournament with 12 overall losses (see: Georgia from last season). The Badgers, according to fellow Big Ten coaches, are freer on offense, get more open shots in the halfcourt, and shoot more 3s than the Wisconsin teams that played under Dick Bennett. But the Ryan system doesn't stray too far from Bennett's defensive strategy.

The Badgers are still an aggressive man-to-man defensive team. They have the shooter in Kirk Penney, a potential bust-out player in Devin Harris and a serviceable center in Charlie Wills. They beat Marquette, they won at Indiana and Michigan State, and beat Illinois and Ohio State at home, not to mention gaining a sweep of Minnesota. That should be enough to get in to the NCAAs, something that few thought was possible with this team, except Ryan.

"From the first day when I took this job (from UW-Milwaukee), I said I wasn't going to give into this nonsense about this team," Ryan said. "I expected to be successful. We're making a statement because this team bought into what we were doing. They've all worked extremely hard and earned this. We're playing this thing out and we're putting ourselves in position to make something happen if we win these last two."

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.